Dolphins Beat Writer, Armando Salguero Is Not MY Amigo
By JohnnyU
Armando Salguero is…well…not my “Amigo”. Day after day in his Miami Herald column he quotes “sources” and then directs readers to his radio show …. Hmmmmm. Interesting, but beyond his pettiness it is the constant derision of Miami Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland that raises my ire today.
Now I know that Ireland raises as much anger in some fans as Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano, and I do not confuse my support for him with general feeling. I am also stating OPINION here, and i do not state opinions as facts as Armando seems to do in his daily blogs. If he has sources, good for him but everything seems to be “sourced”, even when it’s his opinion. Well, maybe that’s just me.
The problem I have here is that Armando Salguero always leaves himself an out. Present this as fact but pull back a little later.
"I am reporting the Dolphins plan to let Ireland continue in his job with the team beyond this season. The plan is also to replace Sparano after the season although the team is adamant no final decision has been made on this front.I know this as fact. Period.So what’s news here?The Ireland stuff.I already wrote in my column Sunday that Sparano was in grave danger of losing his job even if he won the final four games of the year. Sparano’s team has since lost a 26-10 decision to the Philadelphia Eagles and so he will will not win out, which logically signals his end after the next three games.Ireland is another story. He stays, barring some unexpected circumstance, regardless of who the new coach is or is not. It is as solid as something of this matter can be in the NFL. Ireland stays for 2012."
This is my point. “I know this as fact. Period”? How do you know this to be fact. Do you have a source? Then he backtracks to say “He stays, barring some unexpected circumstance”. Really? Why not just say that to begin with? Because it leaves an out. Same thing with Sparano. “The plan is to replace Sparano after the season although the team…blah blah blah”. Really? Every Dolphins fan in America already assumes that, so why is this such breaking news fact for you? The out of course comes later with, “logically signals his end”.
The truth is, Armando tries to hard to be that breaking news source and if we simply let his opinions and his research fly on their own merits he would probably hit on more than he misses. Stand out there and throw it in the fan and take a risk. See what comes back at you. If it does, duck or let it hit you in the face and deal with it. If it doesn’t then good for you. Either way, take a side and if it’s fact, then present it as fact and leave it at that if it’s opinion then state it as such and leave it at that. If it’s fact you have no reason to try and recant it later.
I believe Tony Sparano should be fired. I believe he has failed as a head coach. The stage is too big for him. I wanted him to succeed because, as Armando points out today, he is a dignified person, but he has not succeeded. The reasons he has not are HIS reasons, not Ireland’s.
Sparano, like his mentor Parcells, believes in a conservative gameplan. Run the ball, get a lead, run the ball some more, kill the clock and win the game 17-16. This formula, very popular in the ’80s, has been disproven in today’s NFL. When Armando claims Ireland has “saddled Sparano with 7-9 talent”, I argue that its Sparano’s philosophies that created those records. As fans in 2009 we watched the field goal king squirrel away 3 pointers like they were gold in late season tilts against the Jags, Titans and Steelers, only to lose those games as a result of last minute comebacks by the opposition. Or take last year, when he felt field goals were enough against the Browns and the Titans (3 in that game in the 4th qtr). They weren’t, and instead of 9-7 or 10-6 we have 7-9 and 7-9. That’s Sparano gang, that’s not Ireland.
May I also remind readers that the team Ireland inherited in 2008 was abysmal. Of the 73 players that went to camp under Cam Cameron in 2007 only 26 remain in the NFL. That team was truly horrible and so Ireland has had to recreate from the ground up. Has he been perfect? NO. Gibril Wilson is enough to dispel that idea. Here is the opinion folks (take note Armando) I believe the glaring weakness of this team aside from quarterback, is the offensive line. I believe that it was Sparano who wanted Jake Grove, that it was Sparano who fell in love with John Jerry and, when the chips were down this year, agitated for Marc Columbo. Now, until either man talks we will never know the truth, but, I take exception when someone uses “sources” as facts.
So, where does all this leave us today. If, as is reported, Ireland does stay, it probably means that Bill Cowher has indicated he is serious about remaining on CBS or, as I truly believe, is waiting for the New York Giants job to open. I don’t believe Ireland automatically would disqualify Jeff Fisher. In fact, that duo would compliment each other. Fisher is an out front coach who wants to be the voice of the franchise while Ireland has demonstrated that scouting and roster building is his focus with press relations coming a distant second.
Allow me offer another name. Pete Carmichael Jr. has been at the side of New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton since 2006. He has ties to Marty Schottenheimer who hired Carmichael back in 2002 with the San Diego Chargers. Connecting the Carl Petersen dots may mean that this young and presumably hungry coordinator would be on the Dolphins short list.
So, as fans we will watch the young players on this team over the next 3 weeks and we will debate whether winning or losing helps or hurts us in draft position, but it seems the next real “game” for the Dolphins will begin on January 2, 2012, the day after the regular season ends. With or without sources. It’s easy to predict what will happen three or four weeks from now…no one will likely go back to check and see if your “sources” were correct…or just misleading. Of course, this is just an opinion. Hopefully I didn’t present it as fact.